Tasmania contains the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, one of Australia’s largest protected natural regions.
The area covers more than 1.5 million hectares across western and southwestern Tasmania. It includes rugged mountains, temperate rainforest, alpine environments, deep valleys, and extensive river systems shaped by glaciation.
Its cultural importance is also significant: Aboriginal Tasmanian heritage in the region reaches back more than 35,000 years. European exploration and later conservation history are represented by places such as the former convict settlement at Port Arthur, which is part of a separate UNESCO property.
Tasmania is Australia’s island state, separated from the mainland by Bass Strait. It should not be confused with New Zealand’s South Island, which has similarly dramatic mountains and wilderness but lies across the Tasman Sea.